There has to be a first post on a blog, and this is the one for Animots.

I just updated the “About” page to list my editorial direction for this blog. The neat thing is that I’m not sure we’ll necessarily go in the direction that I’ve outlined. Here’s why: this blog is my first with multiple authors. I’ve invited three of my colleagues at the Faculty of Environmental Studies to join me as authors for Animots. We’re all interested in thinking about animals, but we all come to this from different places.

What does “thinking about animals” mean for me? I think it means engaging with what it means to be human. That may not make a hell of a lot of sense, but part of my own personal philosophy hold that humans are animals too. Or as a friend puts it, we’re monkeys that drive cars. We have to be aware of that fact before we engage with anything to do with animals. Being human, being an animal and being a human animal in the early 21st century colours our outlook. I’m interested in looking for those colours.